Blooming Gladiolus, Fall to the Ground
by twilighteve-writes
Summary: When Midoriya Hisashi finally comes home from years-long work outside the country, Izuku expected to have some family down time that he hadn't ever had with him since… well, forever. But his expectations were thrown when he found out that Hisashi really wasn't what he seemed. And really, being accused of being a villain is just a bonus; when have life ever stopped messing with him?
1. Chapter 1

The gladiolus symbolizes honor and remembrance. It can also symbolize strength of character, faithfulness, sincerity and integrity, infatuation, and never giving up.

* * *

The noise of the news program on TV echoed through the mostly empty common area of the dorms, filling it with the loud sounds of buildings falling and rubbles settling.

 _"_ _The villain that attacked the city is reported to have a vibration quirk that allows him to topple buildings easily,"_ the news reporter relayed. _"A few heroes have tried to subdue him, but for the time being they are not able to do so yet. We have also received word that up-and-coming hero, Barrier Maiden, was inside the building – "_ she cut her words off, putting her hand on the earpiece she had in her left ear. When she spoke again, her voice was decidedly much more grave. _"Recent checking has confirmed that there are at least fourteen people in the building when it collapsed. The authorities hope to retrieve them safely, however it is unfortunately not possible to do so while the villain is still about."_

He placed the half-filled glass of water on the table as he sank to the couch, expression falling. If he actually had permission, he'd go out and help. Then again, his provincial license limited his movements to certain area which did not include the place where the incident was happening. Also, considering he didn't have speed or teleportation quirk it was more than likely that he'd end up arriving too late anyway.

"Barrier Maiden," he whispered to himself, tasting the name on his tongue. It was a good hero name, as far as any. Judging from it, the hero most likely had the power to create barriers – and the hero should be a woman, if the _maiden_ in the name was anything to go by. The barrier quirk should be strong, if she was confident enough to choose such hero name to go with. How strong were the barriers she made though? How long did they last? Were there distinct shapes she needed to make to ensure highest stability? What of the size? How much was she able to manipulate existing barriers? What sort of drawbacks did the quirk have? All quirks have drawbacks. Maybe she could only make small barriers? Maybe the sizes determine the stability and power. Maybe…

"Whoa, Midoriya, you're up this early? And already mumbling, too?"

He jumped in his seat and turned. "Ah, good morning, Kaminari," Izuku greeted. "I was out for a morning jog earlier, and I got curious about the news."

Kaminari plopped down on the seat next to him. "Cool. I just woke up because Mineta was snoring really loud, so I figured going to the common area wouldn't hurt." He grimaced. "Also, he's been talking in his sleep. About… weird things."

Izuku winced. "Is it about women's boobs and asses?"

"Worse. It's about 1-A girls' boobs and asses." Kaminari shook his head. "I mean, I'll admit it, I like girls and I definitely like both boobs and ass, but Mineta is just…" he wriggled his fingers weirdly. "Yeah."

Izuku sighed heavily. As good as Mineta could be in schoolwork and heroics, his perverted tendencies never failed to both baffle and made him uncomfortable.

 _"_ _Mt. Lady is currently trying to dig the rubbles to rescue the civilians while Best Jeanist and Kamui Woods battle and apprehend the villain,"_ the reporter's voice drew Izuku's attention back to the TV. _"From what we know so far, the villain has voice-based quirk which creates vibrations capable of toppling buildings. We only hope that Best Jeanist and Kamui Woods are able to apprehend him as soon as possible._ "

"Man, that villain's tough," Kaminari commented as the TV showed the two heroes and the villain fighting, with the villain ducking and sending his own screams that made the heroes wince and stagger. Kamui Woods' created trees shattered at the attack, and the threads Best Jeanist used clearly frayed, but they were able to at least tie the villain down. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to completely tie him down, as he repeatedly broke out and lunged.

 _"_ _Best Jeanist and Kamui Woods both seem to be struggling with this villain. It seems that his vibration weakens each and every material anyone uses to tie him down. However – ah! Viewers, Mt. Lady has just managed to dig out the rubbles!"_

The camera switched focus from the fight to the rescue attempt at once. It blurred before focusing, showing Mt. Lady setting aside a large chunk of the wall. In the settling dust was a glowing dome, a somewhat translucent blue barrier that stood strong under the pile of bricks and woods. Mt. Lady quickly brushed the rubbles off the barrier as the camera zoomed in to the barrier.

In it was an unfamiliar hero in baby blue hero suit with pink sash and pink mask. Her face was folded into a frown as she concentrated to keep the barrier intact, and her braided dark hair was messy. As soon as Mt. Lady cleared the area, she lowered her upstretched arms and staggered back. Then, from behind her, several people shot up to catch her before she fell.

She managed to get all the people in the building into her barrier, Izuku realized. She protected them all.

 _"_ _New hero Barrier Maiden is able to round up and protect all fourteen – no, fifteen people in the building using her quirk!"_ the reporter gushed excitedly. _"Families of these people can now rest easy, as Barrier Maiden has saved them all. She's now cooperating with Mt. Lady to bring these people to safety. The police and paramedics are waiting by the road, and they will provide the needed support to – oh no, watch out!"_

Izuku swallowed down a whimper when he saw the villain breaking out of Kamui Woods' restraints and lunging to Barrier Maiden and Mt. Lady. Beside him, Kaminari let out a troubled shout. Kirishima was beside Kaminari, yelling at the villain for being a prick, while Bakugou yelled obscenities at the villain and Todoroki gave a wordless noise of disapproval from right next to Izuku's ear. Mixed in the noise was Uraraka's loud _no_ , Tsuyu's croak, and Yaoyorozu's groan. Izuku spared them all a brief glance, wondering when they even got there, before turning back to the TV.

Barrier Maiden had reacted quickly, trapping the villain inside a ball-shaped barrier. She winced when the villain screamed and her barrier began to crack, however. She turned and put all fifteen civilians she had protected inside another ball-shaped barrier and gestured to Mt. Lady. The hero with gigantification quirk nodded and picked the ball barrier up, running to the police line.

The barrier imprisoning the villain shattered, and Barrier Maiden flinched. The barrier with the civilians shuddered but didn't break. She glared at the villain and untied the sash around her waist, holding it like a weapon. Behind the villain, both Best Jeanist and Kamui Woods creeped closer.

With three heroes working together, it was a quick work restraining the villain. Barrier Maiden imprisoned him within another barrier that he shattered as quickly as it manifested, making her flinch and stagger, but Best Jeanist and Kamui Woods both were prepared, quickly using thread and wood to tie him in place, with Kamui Woods creating some sort of gag using his quirk. Not willing to take any chances, Barrier Maiden then created three layers of barriers to secure him further until police came in to bring him in.

(It was a good precaution, because by the time the police was there the villain had managed to break the restraints Best Jeanist and Kamui Woods created and was in the process of trying to shatter the second layer of Barrier Maiden's triple-layered barrier, and the two older heroes couldn't create more restraint because apparently people couldn't use their quirk from the outside of the barrier to the inside and vice versa – though if you were already in the inside and used it inside it would be fine.)

"That was intense!" Uraraka commented. "Barrier Maiden's quirk was so cool!"

"It was great that she was able to save all those people," Tsuyu croaked. Her head tilted in thought. "Her quirk seemed pretty powerful. What do you think, Midoriya?"

Izuku sat ramrod straight in his seat. "Eh?!"

"Well you _are_ the resident quirk analyst," Kirishima pointed out as Kaminari poked him on the arm. "And you're usually pretty spot on, too."

"Well, uh," Izuku pursed his lips, bringing his hand up to his chin as he thought. "Her quirk is emitter-type, right? So naturally it'll be weak to quirks capable of cancellation of its activation, such as Eraserhead's _erasure_. It's strongly defensive in nature, so I wonder about its offensive application. Also, Barrier Maiden seems to be hurt when the barriers are broken forcibly, so damage received to the barriers most likely reflect to her indirectly." He hummed. "It's surprisingly convenient that her first appearance in the media is to protect civilians from crumbling building, though. It showcases her strong point considerably."

"Almost shoving it to your face, actually," Todoroki pointed out. "The damage the villain dealt to the city is huge, there many civilian lives on the line, and her quirk was excellent in minimalizing victims. You don't usually get that lucky, as far as debuts go."

"It's good for her though, right?" Uraraka pointed out. "You need media attention and popularity to stay in the business, after all! Unless you're an underground hero like Aizawa-sensei."

"Still, it _is_ very convenient," Izuku thought aloud, mostly to himself. He turned back to the TV, where the reporter was gushing about how fortunate it was that a hero with defensive quirk had come in to save the civilians from falling rubbles. The shot showed the police thanking the four heroes. Barrier Maiden preened quietly at the back until the police turned to her, to which she flushed immediately.

As the camera zoomed to Barrier Maiden's face, Izuku caught movements from behind her shoulder. Far back, leaning to a building, was a man in a charcoal gray hoodie. One of his hands was in the hoodie's pocket while the other held a phone to his ear. He spoke into the phone, listened, nodded, and casted a look to Barrier Maiden. He nodded once in what seemed to be satisfaction and walked away.

Izuku squinted, but the camera zoomed out to show the other heroes also thanking Barrier Maiden. The man in the hoodie disappeared from his sight, too far away to be caught in camera. Something about him piqued at Izuku, though he wasn't sure what, exactly.

"Deku?" Uraraka's voice brought him back to reality. "Is something wrong?"

"Oh, nothing!" Izuku assured. It wasn't anything important, anyway. "By the way, have you guys finished your homework for tomorrow?"

The collective groan from half his classmates who were present at the area was answer enough, and that day ended up being a study group day, with them all piling together in the common area to deal with their homework. It was interrupted around noon, however, when Izuku's phone chimed with an incoming phone call.

"Ah," he exclaimed when he checked the caller ID. "I should take this. It's my mom."

"Sure, Midoriya, we can handle this much on our own," Kirishima assured. Izuku smiled at him and made his way outside.

"Hello, Mom?" Izuku greeted when he picked up.

"Izuku," Inko's voice was brimming with hopeful excitement. "I was wondering, are you busy today?"

"No, not really," Izuku answered. "Why?"

"Is it possible for you to go home for today?"

"I don't know if it's possible to request a permit to leave the ground in a short notice, but I'll see what I can do," Izuku promised. "I'm sorry if this troubles you, but I think you'll have better chance just coming here than me applying a permit out of nowhere, Mom."

"Oh, no, no, it's fine!" Inko hurriedly assured. "This _is_ rather sudden, after all. It's just that… Hisashi's home."

Izuku's mind blanked out for a moment. "Who?"

"Hisashi," Inko repeated, a hint of amused exasperation in her tone. "Your father, Izuku."

Izuku blinked. "Now, after all these years?"

"I'm as surprised as you are," Inko said. "Can you believe him? He didn't say anything, and suddenly he just called saying he's coming home and popped out in the front door about half an hour later! I'm happy, of course, but he could have at least called _yesterday_." She spoke the last part loudly, as if wanting someone else to hear. A faint voice chimed a _sorry, dear_ in the background, and Inko sighed. "In any case, we had hoped we could get a family dinner. If it's not possible, we can schedule it sometime this week, I hope?"

"Yeah," Izuku nodded. "I can definitely get a permit for sometime this week. Maybe Wednesday or Thursday? Homework tend to relent on those days."

"You know, it still makes me a little upset that you need a permit to leave school grounds," Inko said. "It's like you're imprisoned there."

"I'm not, Mom," Izuku assured. "We're allowed to go out as long as the school is notified – that's what the permits are supposed to do, anyway. Besides, it's kind of necessary, after the whole…"

"The kidnapping fiasco," Inko finished when Izuku faltered.

"Yes, that."

"I suppose extra layer of security wouldn't hurt," Inko admitted. "U.A _is_ much safer than our own apartment, after all."

Izuku laughed. "It sure is, with all those walls that shoot up whenever someone without an ID tries to get inside the school ground."

Inko giggled her own amused agreement, and their phone call soon ended. Izuku smiled as he hung up and put the phone back into his pocket. U.A was fast in dealing with permits, so if he requested a permit for Wednesday tomorrow he should get it at Tuesday morning at the latest.

His smile faded when the thought of meeting his father struck. When was the last time he saw him? When was the last time he actually spoke to him? He didn't even remember the last time his mom even spoke of him, not even in a secondhand comment. Midoriya Hisashi was as much a stranger to Izuku as someone he passed in a department store.

Oh god he'll have to reconnect. _Oh god he'll have to explain about One for All_. Family dinner was going to be _supremely_ awkward.

* * *

The man suppressed a smile at the scene before him. Barrier Maiden was guaranteed to have a good popularity after this sort of stunt. It had been a hassle setting all of this up, and he was glad their efforts had paid off. It wasn't perfect – things rarely were – but it was pretty close. He knew for sure the kids were cheering happily.

He almost failed to contain his snickers then. _Kids_. They would blow a gasket if they knew what he referred to them as, considering their age. Not to mention that he already had a kid of his own.

His phone vibrated in his pocket and he took it out. A private number greeted him, and he openly rolled his eyes. It would be cute that they even bothered to try if it wasn't so annoying. His company had Access with them. Their feeble attempt to upkeep a semblance of anonymity was just plain useless.

"Trailblaze here," he said when he picked up the phone. "You know, you could've just called Brightlight. He's pretty much second in command, after all. I know you people are too scared to actually talk to Siren, even if she's better at this sort of thing."

The person at the end of the line paused. "We prefer to go straight to the head," a smooth voice replied at last. "You never told us that the damage would be so… massive."

"You didn't ask," he replied flippantly. "Besides, it's not like your company will have to pay for all the damage from the battle. Barrier Maiden wasn't the one doing the wrecking."

"It would upset her to know that so much damage had been dealt to ensure her memorable debut."

His brow shot up to his hairline. "You plan to tell her?"

"Our contract requires us both to be completely open and honest to each other."

"Well, okay, if that's what you decided to do. Just a heads up, though, heroes generally dislike this sort of tactic."

"We're aware."

"Ah, well. Anyway, remember that we'll have your company name on our list. We'll call in favors from time to time, so be ready for when that happens."

"Of course." The phone clicked and the connection was cut off from the other end. He took his phone off his ear and stared at it, clicking his tongue. Sheesh, _rude_.

He was about to pocket the phone when it vibrated again. he stared at it as Access' modification to trace private numbers appeared; showing that this number had never contacted him before and that it came from within the country.

A potential client?

He answered the call and placed the phone by his ear. "Who is this?"

"Is this Trailblaze of the Enablers?"

Yep, a potential client, then. "That's right. Who is this? Are you requiring our service?"

"I would rather meet you face to face before going into the details."

"Sure. Where and when?"

The person gave an address and a time, and is eyebrow shot up to his hairline once more. He smirked. "Ah. Is this some bigwig in need of a diversion, then?"

"I wouldn't put it that way," the person said mildly, but it wasn't a denial. Both of them was aware that it was far from a denial.

His smirk widened a fraction. "Well, see you later then, Mr. Politician. I hope you're aware I will require a large payment and probably even larger favors."

"Oh, don't worry. It's common knowledge within our circle, even if no one talks about it. Good day, Traiblaze." He nodded with a hum as a response, and the phone call ended. He pulled the phone away from his ear.

Another client, so soon, and within the same country. This almost felt like a Christmas present. He gazed at Barrier Maiden who flushed under media attention, nodded in satisfaction, and walked away.

It looked like he was going to stay around for a while. Might as well go home and reconnect with his family. He wondered absently about how his wife and son were doing. He should be in his teens, maybe about late junior high or early high school age? Early high school age sounded more like it. If he'd inherited both his and his wife's brains, he should be in a fancy high school by now.

Probably not in heroics, though. There was no way the heroics department of any high school would accept a quirkless kid. General education was more like it. Maybe support. _God_ , he hoped he was in support. It would be great to drag his kid into the business. Ultimately, the choice wasn't his to make, though.

He lifted his phone again and dialed a long since familiar number. He should tell them he was coming instead of showing up out of nowhere. Granted, this was pretty sudden, but a late notice would still be better than nothing, right?

"Good morning, Midoriya residence," a feminine voice answered the phone call.

His smile bloomed like a flower. "Hi, Inko."

Midoriya Inko paused, and he could imagine her eyes growing wide in shock. When she finally spoke, it was in a disbelieving almost-shriek.

" _Hisashi_?!"

* * *

A/N: May you readers be warned that I wrote this as I stress myself out about my finals in January while curling up in bed in Christmas due to a cold and I totally didn't think this through before posting despite the fact the idea has been floating around in my head but not exactly cooked and I already wrote this chapter before writing my finals' essays because I have lost control over my life

Come yell at me for being a walking disaster in my tumblr ( twilighteve. tumblr - please remove space on your own because ff net is a jerk about links), because seriously i ought to have shared this years ago


	2. Chapter 2

"You're going home today?"

Izuku nodded at the question Iida gave him, hoisting his backpack up. "My father's home after going abroad for work. My mom thought we should get a family dinner, at least. I'll be back here by tomorrow, don't worry."

"Wait, the shithead's back home?" Bakugou's question thundered from across the room. "Now, of all times?"

"Bakugou, that's not nice!" Ashido exclaimed. "It's impolite to say someone's dad is a shithead!"

"Well don't blame me for doing that! The shithead's the one who's been gone for years with no word to his family at all!"

"Wait, really?" Kirishima turned to Izuku. "Midoriya, is that true?"

Izuku shrugged. "Honestly, I don't even remember what he looks like."

Uraraka looked both disturbed and pitiful. "Are you sure you're related to him, Deku-kun?"

"I am, according to my birth certificate," Izuku answered with another shrug. At Uraraka's disbelieving gaze, he sent a helpless smile. "I mean, I'm pretty sure the last time I actually saw him was when I was three. I can barely remember his face."

"Are you _sure_ you're related to him, Deku-kun?" Uraraka repeated, worry lacing her voice. Izuku could only laugh awkwardly as a response and bid his friends goodbye before walking out of the school grounds.

It was nice, to be out for a family outing for once, even if he had to wear the tracking bracelet to monitor where he was so U.A could track him if anything happened. For so long, going out of school meant doing internships and heroics, and as much as he loved it things could get tiring after a while. It wasn't often that he could actually walk around outside to take a breather, so Izuku intended to enjoy it while it lasted.

He should've known things wouldn't go smoothly, though. As he exited the train station nearest to his house, he bumped into someone harshly. His eyes widened in horror when he saw that the woman he bumped into held a cup of coffee in her hand and the bump had her spilling the coffee all over her pale blue shirt – and what made Izuku felt even more guilty was the fact that not a drop had been spilled on _him_.

"I'm sorry!" he apologized automatically. "I didn't mean – are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she answered blandly, looking down at her shirt as she lowered the now-empty cup of coffee. Her voice was surprisingly melodious, bell-like, and it chimed through the air prettily despite the almost deadpan tone. "I wasn't looking, either."

"Still… wasn't the coffee hot? Are you hurt?" Izuku pressed.

She pressed the coffee stain until her finger met the skin through the fabric. She shook her head. "Don't worry about it. It wasn't that hot. I'm perfectly fine."

"Your shirt is ruined, though." With a gulp, his hand reached for his pocket to take his wallet. "At least let me pay for it. Or the laundry cost."

The stranger's white wood eyes widened in surprise. "Oh no, please don't," she hurriedly shook her head. "I'm the one who's at fault. I wasn't looking where I was going. You don't have to pay for anything."

Izuku chewed his lip. As relieving as that was, considering that he didn't have that much money to begin with, it still felt wrong to just leave her be. "Let me lend you my jacket at least, to cover the stain," he bargained.

She opened her mouth and paused, looking down at her shirt once more, and sighed. "That would be wonderful," she reluctantly agreed. As Izuku slipped his jacket off to offer to her, she took out her phone and asked, "Can I have your contact information, so I can give you back your jacket? I'm sure you'll need it back."

"Oh, sure!" Izuku rattled his phone number to her, confirmed it when she read it back to him, and gave her the jacket. She did the same with her phone number.

"What's your name?" she asked as she slipped the jacket on.

"It's Midoriya," he answered. "Midoriya Izuku."

She paused and stared at him, something akin to surprise and recognition in her eyes. "Midoriya…?"

He blinked at her and blushed. "I, um. I'm a U.A student. You probably know me from the sports festival. I know it was pretty scary; I wrecked my hands really badly."

"That's not – um." She shuffled awkwardly. "Um, yes, sports festival. I think you did well enough."

That was sort of a weird response, but Izuku was too busy being embarrassed to think about it. Instead he asked her, "Sorry, I didn't catch your name…?"

"It's Yuki," she answered promptly, clearly as eager as he was to leave the topic behind. "Yuki Koemi. Um, thanks for the jacket. I'll give you a call when I've gotten it washed."

"You don't have to – " Izuku clamped his mouth shut. "Uh, yes, um. Thank you."

She smiled at that, and it didn't look awkward. "No, thank _you_. See you later, Midoriya-san," she waved as she walked ahead.

"Ah – s-see you later," Izuku nodded at her, but she was long gone, turning to enter the train station as she tossed the empty coffee cup into a trash bin.

Well. Izuku just hoped nothing would happen during the rest of the walk home. Hopefully, Mom had prepared katsudon for dinner.

* * *

There was a really specific feeling about meeting your practical boss' kid and she was fairly sure she could find a name of it in German – because the Germans had word for pretty much _everything_ – but Koemi sure as heck wouldn't waste any time looking for it, especially not with a meeting looming over her head. She wasn't about to come to a meeting late.

She'd just have to make do with the shirt. At least the jacket would do well to hide the stain.

She walked to the venue of the meeting, making sure to keep her head held high so exude an air of confidence and authority. The hostess at the front casted a dubious look at her that she covered quickly with a neutral smile, but she expected it – it was a fancy fine dining restaurant, and a cup of simple green tea could probably land her in debt. Not to mention she wasn't exactly dressed to fit in. A combination of coffee-stained shirt, All Might jacket, knee-length skirt, and worn sneakers that wouldn't be out of place in a dumpster didn't exactly scream _wealthy_ , after all.

"Welcome," the hostess greeted. There was a glint of reluctance in her eyes, but that too was well within the expected range of skepticism. "What can I do for you?"

She flashed the hostess her most winning smile. "Well, I have an appointment with Kinjo-san. Kinjo Yutaka? He should have booked a private room."

The hostess' eyes widened, almost to a comical proportion, and she had to suppress a smile at it. She loved it when she managed to throw people off. The hostess cleared her throat and composed herself. "Yes – _a-hem_ – he booked a private room. Two of your companions have already gotten here, although Kinjo-san himself hasn't arrived just yet. Let me show you to the room."

Koemi nodded at let the hostess lead her deep into the restaurant, into one of the soundproof private dining room at the back. She thanked the hostess when she opened the door for her and stepped in, looking around.

"Oh, you're here," her companion greeted her. He grinned brightly at her, and she blinked at him wordlessly.

"You're dressed up," she noted at last. "Aki, what in the world. I didn't even know you had a suit."

"Oh, no, I borrowed this from an acquaintance," the man assured. He straightened the blazer he wore and preened. "I would've taken the tie, but I thought a casual look would suit me better."

"Of course it does, we don't want a repeat of that tux disaster," her other companion chimed from one of the seats. She herself wore a black casual formal dress that made her white hair look even brighter. "Why do you dress so casually? You look so out of place here."

"I was too lazy to get a more formal attire," Koemi admitted. She pulled at the jacket to show the coffee stain. "Also, this. I bumped into a kid and he offered his jacket to hide the stain. Pretty sure it was the boss' kid."

"Midoriya Izuku?" Aki asked curiously. "How's the kid?"

"He's nice," Koemi admitted. "Plain. Pretty cute for a teen."

"Cute? Don't tell me you're into kids, Koemi," Aki teased.

Koemi glared at him. "I swear to god, Aki, I'm _this_ close to making you jump off a cliff. He's, I don't know, fifteen, or sixteen. Himoyo would be a better match."

The other girl _hmph_ ed. "No thanks. I'm not into younger guys." She glanced at the door. "By the way, I've been monitoring the security cameras. Looks like the client is finally here." She reached down to the floor and unplugged the cable that trailed from her head.

Koemi nodded. Himoyo's quirk, _living computer_ , basically made her a human with computer-like constitution, complete with USB ports and plugs. Unfortunately, it made her vulnerable to both biological sickness and computer virus, so she had to install antivirus on herself. She had also learned to hack, if only to protect herself from some hackers and crackers who thought she was a regular computer with interesting security instead of a human being whose body also happened to double as a computer.

She sure ended up using the hacking part a lot to do a recon mission, though.

True to her words, the door opened and a man in a pressed, clearly expensive suit walked in. His hair was still thick on his head, but starting to gray. Age had etched lines into his angular face, and he stared at the three of them with calculating piercing eyes before he nodded at them. "Good evening. I apologize for coming late."

"Don't worry, we didn't have to wait long," Aki replied easily. "Can we start, Kinjo-san?"

Kinjo's lips pressed thin. "I was under the impression that Trailblaze would be here as well."

"It doesn't matter if he's here or not since our group doesn't really have any formal hierarchy," Aki argued. "He will be notified later. Besides, if you really want the exact hierarchy or something, Trailblaze left me in charge."

Kinjo's gaze seemed to wither then and there.

Aki shrugged. "Well, it's either me or Siren, and we're all aware that most people aren't keen with talking with her."

Koemi smiled sweetly. She tamped down the urge to give a witty comment, knowing that her silence was needed to build Kinjo's trust.

Kinjo met her gaze silently before glancing to Himoyo. "And her?"

"Access is the resident tech specialist and isn't exactly the best when it comes to socializing," Aki explained. "Moreover, she's young and inexperienced. Trailblaze doesn't really trust her to handle contracts and such."

"Also, just for the record," Himoyo piped up, "I hold grudges and I won't hesitate to dig up dirt on you."

"Access, not the time," Koemi sighed softly to her, earning a nonchalant shrug in return. None of them missed how Kinjo stiffened when Koemi spoke. She decided to lean back and keep her mouth closed, knowing full well that her voice wasn't an asset in this situation. Rather, it was a liability.

Aki recovered quickly, thankfully, by gesturing to Himoyo. "See? She just demonstrated why Trailblaze doesn't trust her with contracts. Anyway, point is, we'll be fine without Trailblaze. Can we start?"

Kinjo spared him an unreadable look before smiling that annoying impossible-to-read smile all politicians seemed to have in their arsenal. "In a bit. I thought lunch before discussion would be a good idea. My treat, of course."

Koemi made sure that her smile could convey her internal _of course_ with as much sarcasm as possible. Kinjo glanced at her and looked away. He probably didn't get the totally sarcastic _of course_ , but oh well.

As Koemi expected, Kinjo purposefully ordered the most lavish and expensive dishes around. It was ridiculous, of course; there was no reason why a bunch of asparagus could cost so much, but eh. It wasn't her money. She clapped softly and gave her thanks aloud before taking her chopsticks and picked on the asparagus. Well, alright, it _did_ taste really good.

Koemi made sure to eat elegantly, as did Aki to a certain degree, but Himoyo had no such qualms. As soon as she offered her thanks her chopsticks flashed around the table freely and quickly, taking samples from each and every dish. She looked about ready to lick the plates clean if Aki didn't pull on her elbow and gave a stern shake.

All the while, Kinjo stared at them with that unreadable look in his face, only it wasn't as unreadable now. Koemi could recognize it, because she'd seen it before in the face of other bigwig people who thought they owned the world because they had much money. She smiled blandly at him and spoke at him directly for the first time, "It won't work, you know."

Her tone was calm, but Kinjo tensed at her voice all the same. He looked at her warily. "I beg your pardon?"

"If you plan to deter us somehow by showing that you have more cash so you could make a contract that benefit you more somehow, it won't work," Koemi elaborated. "You're not the first to pull that card. We're pretty much immune by now. So… I don't know about you, but I think you could stop hoping we'll turn over and show you our throats." She pointed at Himoyo. "Also, Access? She doesn't care how much money you just pulled out of your pocket for the lunch. For her free food is free food. If you chose to bring her the most expensive lobster, that's on you." Her smile turned a tad softer. "And please stop tensing whenever I speak. I promise I won't use my quirk on you. Doing so in public would be illegal, after all."

"We're not exactly in public right now," Kinjo pointed out.

"That's true, but I'm here with my colleagues so we could establish a work contract," Koemi said. "I'm not going to use my quirk on you. Besides, if I were, you'd have no way to stop it. Please, can we start?"

Kinjo glanced to Himoyo. "Your friend doesn't seem to be finished."

"She won't stop eating until there's nothing left to eat, so we might as well start now," Aki shifted in his seat, pointedly ignoring how Himoyo picked one of the lobster's feet and began sucking on it. "Trailblaze mentioned that you talked about public use of quirks?"

Kinjo's eyes glinted. There was steel in his gaze. "Yes, about that. It's not exactly public use of quirks. It's more of the heroes' use of quirks in public."

Koemi sat back and let Aki take over the conversation. Kinjo explained everything; how heroes' use of quirks destroyed public spaces just as much as villains', using Mt. Lady as an example. Apparently, another politician didn't like how heroes were wrecking things as much as villains and decided that heroes should be banned, giving the reins in dealing with villains to the police. The police should be authorized on using quirks, and any other individuals wanting to use their quirks for the society should turn to military.

It was… a lot to take in. Heroes helped upkeep the peace in society, and it was hard to believe that anyone would look at them and thought 'nope, better get them into the army'.

Apparently, Kinjo thought the same and hoped to stop the idea from even being brought up within the political circles, and if it _did_ get brought up it should be met with extreme disdain. He wanted them to arrange something to showcase that heroes' use of quirks was vital while making sure the heroes wouldn't break anything of public use.

"Why hire us?" Himoyo spoke up for the first time as she poked at the lobster's head. "Society at large would dislike the idea already."

"This slimy little snake is good at convincing others to see things in his perspective," Kinjo explained. "He might be able to persuade enough people. Moreover, I'm going to admit that I'm petty and I want to see him eat dirt."

The steel in his eyes had turned into sharp blades that threatened to cut through any obstacles in his way. It was the sort of look that screamed of quiet danger, because this man may not have a combat-oriented quirk but he knew how to make use of his resources, and he had many resources.

Aki, refusing to be one-upped, activated his quirk – probably unconsciously, by the way he grinned and looked at Kinjo with open interest. The room dimmed considerably before the light flared out again, almost blinding. Normally, whenever Aki did it, their clients showed alarm in their gaze, most of them already knowing his quirk but not expecting how dramatic he could be with it. Kinjo, however, simply blinked at him.

Koemi shared a glance with Himoyo, who had stopped picking on the lobster's head in favor of studying Kinjo's face. Both decided that Kinjo was probably their most interesting client so far.

After all, not many would so openly declare their contempt for their supposed coworker, not even in a controlled environment, least of all the slimy politicians who made it their business to keep things with themselves in fear of retribution.

* * *

Mom didn't cook katsudon. She cooked nabe instead – which was kind of weird because it wasn't even cold yet – but it looked nice and it smelled _heavenly_ , and the miso soup practically caressed his face and whispered sweet promises of a comforting meal, and his stomach growled loud enough to wake the dead.

Dinner, however, was as awkward as Izuku had predicted, and seeing his mom smooch a practical stranger in front of his face made him stiffen and stare as he screamed internally for the stranger to _move away_ even though he logically knew that it was his own father.

Perks of not having seen him since he was basically a toddler, he guessed.

"Is something wrong, Izu?" Hisashi asked, not unkindly, and Izuku tensed. _Izu_. It was a nickname he used to refer to him, and one he apparently used a lot when Izuku was a child. Still, it felt like a stranger was being overly friendly with him, and years of bullying had taught Izuku that it meant pain and ridicule even though he _knew_ it wouldn't happen, not in his own house, not from his… father.

"No, nothing's wrong," he assured instead. "Um. Wh-what did you say you were? An engineer?"

Hisashi let out a huff of laugh that made it look like he was amused by some joke Izuku wasn't in on. "Heh. Yeah, more or less. I work for a hero support company called Shine Supports. It's a small company, and I end up taking the mantle of the leader as well as the engineer. We got dragged to do some work in America for a while, and I guess we just got so engrossed in our work that time just flies. I'm sorry about that."

"So… uh, you're the boss?"

"I wouldn't say so," Hisashi shrugged. "It's more a four-person job all the time and we don't really have any clear hierarchy, but I do end up being referred to as the leader more often than not, partly because I'm the oldest." He smiled. "The youngest in my team is only nineteen. If I ever introduced you to her, I hope you could be friends."

A nineteen-year-old really seemed kind of intimidating, especially if she was good enough to work in a support company at that age, but Izuku nodded.

"Anyway, your mom told me you got into U.A," Hisashi grinned, finally bringing up the subject Izuku had been dreading to approach. "That's great for you! You're in general studies, right?"

Izuku felt heat creeping at his face and shook his head, looking down at his plate. Next to Hisashi, Inko giggled into her hand.

"Oh, support then?"

"I'm." Izuku gulped when he heard himself squeak and forced himself to steady. When he spoke again, his voice sounded much calmer than he actually felt. "I'm actually in heroics."

There was a tense beat of silence, during which Izuku felt like a pin would make a sound like a gong. And then Hisashi turned to Inko, licks of flames climbing out between his lips without harm, yelling, "Inko! I asked you before, why didn't you tell me?!"

Inko laughed freely, then. "I thought you'd want to hear it for yourself."

"Of course I do!" Hisashi's eyes sparkled. Then the sparkles dimmed. "Wait. Without a quirk?"

Izuku tensed. "Well, uh. It's kind of complicated, but… basically, there was some sort of freak mutation or something. The quirk manifested really, really late."

"How late?"

"It manifested on the day of the entrance exam."

Hisashi stared at Izuku incredulously. Inko, having heard the story before, once again hid her giggles behind her hand and openly enjoyed how Hisashi tried to understand, to grasp and absorb the story.

Izuku ducked his head. "Like I said. _Really_ late."

"…wow," Hisashi grinned, open pride in his eyes. "What's your quirk like? Is it anything like your mom's, or mine? Or is it a mix of both?"

Izuku swallowed his guilt and smiled. Suddenly the nabe didn't taste so great anymore. "Ah… it's completely different, actually. I have a strength-enhancement quirk." He shrugged. "I'm not exactly sure how, either. Anyway, I had to learn to control it really fast, and I got some wounds at first, but now I think I'm pretty good at controlling it."

"You broke your arm and legs quite a lot, Izuku," Inko deadpanned, and Izuku winced.

"Well, um. I don't anymore?"

"It's great, though," Hisashi said, a bright smile at his lips. "I know you've wanted to become a hero since you were still a little kid. Heck, you've prattled about being a hero since you learned how to talk! I'm glad you could go for it now."

Izuku offered him a tentative smile, still unsure of how he should act around him. Still, it made Hisashi beam happily.

It was then that Hisashi's phone trilled loudly, and he mumbled apologies as he stood up and answered the call. It didn't take long. Izuku caught the word _contract_ spoken in the conversation, as well as _quickly_ and _flashy_. Soon it ended, and he turned to walk back to the table, but then his phone trilled again. He sighed as he answered the call.

This time it was even shorter. He listened, narrowed his eyes, and huffed a quiet laugh. "Explosive, huh?" he said into the phone, clear enough for Izuku to hear. He then listened again, confirmed an affirmative, and ended the call.

He returned to the table with an apologetic smile. "Sorry, that was work. We get more request here than expected."

"Will you go abroad again after they're all done?" Inko asked as she pushed Hisashi's half-full bowl of rice, silently nudging him to eat more. "It gets lonely here, with Izuku at the dorms."

Hisashi smiled apologetically. "Well, I can't say for sure if I'll get another request from abroad," he began. "People tend to want our group to do our job nearer to the heroes we're helping, since it's more practical that way. Still, I'm going to make sure to stay here as long as I can." His eyes glinted again, and he glanced at Izuku as if he was telling a joke no one in the room was in on except for himself. "Plus, I don't know. We might see something _really_ interesting around here."

Izuku didn't know why, but the smile Hisashi sent his way felt unsettlng.

* * *

A/N: Fun fact: Yutaka means prosperous, abundant, wealthy. Kin means gold, and jo means castle. So basically Kinjo's name means here in this house i am rich as fuck (I literally thought of a name which could translate as Richie McRichperson so this works). His quirk is basically King Midas' golden touch, and whatever he touches turns to gold. It turns back within three hours, though.

Aki's quirk is light manipulation. Himoyo's, as stated, makes her basically an android which is also a living human - I didn't think much about the specifics because honestly I suck at machinery and circuitry and whatnot. I'm going to stay silent about Koemi's because I'm worried it's going to take away the fun from later chapters. Also, this chapter turned out to be a Parade Your OC Festival kind of thing, sorry about that. At least it actually has plot points though.

And I still haven't done my essays because I am still a walking and breathing human disaster, I can't with myself, send help


	3. Chapter 3

When Izuku went back to U.A the next day, his head was noisy with his thoughts. Not enough to launch him into a mumbling spree, but enough to keep him occupied.

He still wasn't sure of what he thought about Midoriya Hisashi.

If he took a purely logical sense, it was easy. Hisashi was his father. Estranged as he was, he clearly showed that he wanted to reconnect, and Izuku would happily give him the chance to. He was away because of his work, and Izuku and Inko had basically lived off the money he sent (along with the money Inko got from her own job, but still), and he had apologized and was willing to be around. On surface level, there was no reason not to accept him as he was. And yet…

And yet, there was something about him that made Izuku curl into himself, unsure and uncomfortable. At first he thought it was the unfamiliarity, since Hisashi _was_ basically a stranger claiming to be his father. If he thought about it, though, it was more than that. There was no detail about what exactly he did in his work, which heroes had his gadgets, or even the exact places he worked – not necessarily the office, but the towns he'd visited to meet clients. In fact, "here and there" had been the place he pointed.

Inko showed him unconditional trust. Izuku just… couldn't. Inko had known Hisashi, at least, but Izuku hadn't, and his hero work had pounded to him that sometimes, first impressions could be deceiving. There was something about Hisashi, but he didn't know what, and he wasn't sure if he even _should_ feel this way with his own family.

He was so absorbed in his thoughts that he collided into someone on his way to class. He yelped in surprise, apologies hurtling off his tongue, when he realized who it was that he collided into.

"All Might! I'm so sorry, I should've paid attention to where I'm going!" he apologized profusely.

All Might, in all his tall, gangly limbs glory, smiled and patted his shoulder comfortingly. "Don't worry, Midoriya, my boy. We all get lost in thoughts sometimes. Though, it _is_ true you should pay more attention to your surroundings."

Izuku felt his face burn bright red and stammered another apology.

All Might waved it off. "Is there anything weighing your mind, my boy? I don't know if I can help, but I can listen."

"No, no, it's not – " Izuku's flailed arms slowed and dropped to his sides. "Well, um. It's not nothing. It _may_ be nothing? I don't know. It's probably not important."

"It's enough to make you zone out; I'd say it's important," All Might commented.

"Well, uh," Izuku fiddled with his thumbs and considered. It wouldn't hurt getting All Might's opinion, honestly. "If… if there's a person that should have a big role in your life but is never there suddenly comes back, and it makes you feel uncomfortable for some reason, what would you do?"

All Might hummed. "Hm. I suppose the lack of familiarity _could_ make you uncomfortable. Perhaps some bonding time, then?"

Izuku shook his head. "It's not the lack of familiarity that makes me uncomfortable."

"Oh?"

"No. I can't put my finger on it. I don't know why, but I'm just… wary, for some reason."

Another hum. "If my years of doing hero work tells me anything, it's that sometimes your gut feelings can be more accurate than your own head," All Might said at last. "It may not always be accurate, but when it is, it _is_. Listen to it as much as you listen to your head, Young Midoriya. Maybe there's something it's trying to tell you."

Izuku stared at the ground incredulously for the sole reason of being unable to fix the same look at All Might. It made sense, in a way, but his own father? Then again he was more like a stranger than actual father. But he was still his _father_.

The whole semantics was starting to give Izuku a headache.

"Is there a reason for this, my boy?" All Might asked, and Izuku startled. "You were very deep in thought. I don't think you would react this way if it wasn't serious."

"I'm not sure about that," Izuku forced a laugh, "but don't worry about it! I can handle it on my own."

All Might stared at him and nodded. "Well, just tell me if you want to talk. I'll listen."

Izuku nodded appreciatively and turned to look at the teacher. "By the way, All Might… what will we do in today's Heroics course?"

"I'm not going to tell you, Young Midoriya, because then it would be unfair to your classmates," All Might said, amusement glinting in his eyes.

"Not even a little bit? Just a hint?"

All Might laughed, genuine and free. He pushed Izuku gently. "No, not even a little bit. Go on, now, don't get late to class. I still have to go to the teachers' lounge."

Izuku nodded and bid All Might goodbye, walking faster to class. The conversation had managed to put his mind at ease, though not completely. But enough so he could concentrate on his studies, for sure.

When he opened his classroom's door and chimed a _good morning_ , though he found that his class were loudly discussing topics that he wasn't aware even existed.

"Barrier Maiden did what?" Jirou's voice rang loudly.

"That's so _petty_!" Ashido yelled, a tone of disgust edging in her voice. "Who'd do _that_?"

"I know heroics these days is all about popularity, but come on," Kaminari groaned.

"Um, what's going on?" Izuku asked to no one in particular as he put his bag down on his chair.

"Haven't you heard, Deku?" Uraraka asked back, blinking at him. "Well, I guess it shouldn't surprise me if you haven't. The news went online just a few minutes ago and you probably wasn't looking at your phone when you were walking…"

"Wait, is it hero news?" Izuku asked again, already reaching for his phone and looking up updates on hero news. Immediately, an article caught his attention: _Newly Debuted Hero Sabotages Another's_.

" _Barrier Maiden, a hero who debuted just a few days ago, is reportedly seen sabotaging another hero from her agency's debut_ ," Izuku mumbled. " _This new hero, Papercraft, has said that he is more confused than anything because Barrier Maiden has always been friendly with him…_ something is weird."

"Yeah, if they're friendly with each other I don't see why Barrier Maiden would sabotage Papercraft," Uraraka agreed. "It's made even muddier by the fact that Barrier Maiden refuses to say anything and the agency doesn't put up any press release, either."

"It's still early. Maybe they haven't had time to release a statement," Iida added. "Regardless, gossiping so early in the morning is not a heroic behavior, everyone! Class is going to commence in a few minutes! Please go back to your seat!"

Homeroom started just a few minutes after. When Aizawa revealed that they were going to do a small, brief training downtown – as in _the actual town_ – where they would patrol in teams of four or five in a few days, the class exploded in cheers.

* * *

"Oh, look," Himoyo pointed out at the computer screen in front of her, to which she had plugged herself into so she could work as a sort of CPU for it. "Barrier Maiden's been told. She's mad."

"What a surprise," Koemi sardonically commented.

"She's pretty extreme, though, right?" Aki asked. "I mean, we _did_ stage something for Papercraft, but I didn't think she'd put him in a barrier to stop him from dealing with the villain."

Koemi shrugged. "I guess some people _would_ react badly."

"Try _most people_ ," Himoyo snorted. "The archetypal heroes would blow a gasket over having their debuts staged, don't you think?" She paused and frowned, closing her eyes and tilting her head, pressing a palm to her temple.

"Himoyo? Is something wrong?" Aki leaned to the girl.

She shook her head. "Hnn. Someone's trying to hack me again. They've been poking me on and off since a few days ago." She blinked a few times. "It's okay, though. My defense system is pretty good."

"If you say so," Aki relented. "Do you need anything? Should we get you more sugary food?"

"I'll be fine for now. I'll ask if I need something." She blinked, a glint flashing in her eyes as the computer flashed into a news report stating that there were rumors of Barrier Maiden terminating contract with her current agency. "Wow, she's even madder than I thought."

"The conversation must've gone really poorly if this is how she reacts," Koemi commented.

"Guys, what even is all this clamoring about?" a voice rang out, and all three of them turned to see a tuft of curly hair peeking from the wall. Soon the man in question walked in.

"Hi, Hisashi-san," Aki greeted. "We were just looking at the news. Barrier Maiden got mad, as we suspected."

Hisashi paused and sighed. "I told them she would be, but did they listen? Nooo…" He straightened and met them each in the eye. "Anyways. How's the preparation for Kinjo's request?"

"It's coming along just fine," Himoyo answered. The monitor in front of her flickered to show several different photos of several different people – villains, all powerful, and all with a debt to the Enablers. "We've gotten a hold with five people. Is that enough?"

Hisashi hummed as he considered the photos, handing Himoyo a pack of Pocky which she took happily. "It should be enough, I think. Unless one of you disagrees?"

"I think that's enough, too," Aki chimed. "They should pack enough of a punch. It's going to be hard to manage them all as it is."

"And my quirk doesn't work well against many people, so let's not recruit too many," Koemi added, reaching for Himoyo's Pocky. The younger girl scowled, but let her take one, though afterwards she held the pack close to her.

"What about the place?" Hisashi asked.

"We thought downtown Musutafu should do it," Aki answered. "Since it's close to U.A, heroes in training who already have licenses would be able to dive into the fray, too, and they tend to hold back from structural damage, or if they don't they're forgiven more easily because they're still in training. Also, the heroes who patrol in that area tend to be the ones who are more careful about their surroundings when fighting or have quirks that don't really wreck things. Or, in Cementoss' case, can wreck things but can just as easily return things to normal. It should showcase how heroes are needed around here."

"In that case, throw in that guy who can make metals disappear in our villains list," Hisashi said. "Since he can do it through walls, he should be able to collapse a few buildings. That should make a memorable showdown."

Himoyo stared at him as she bit down on a Pocky. "We don't have any more favors we can pull from him, though."

"Tell him we'll owe him one, then," Hisashi shrugged. "And tell him that we're going to guarantee he wouldn't get arrested."

"And the rest?"

"Well, we'll try to keep them safe. We'll bail them out. If they actually harm any civilian on purpose, though, they're on their own."

"Like usual, then," Koemi said. She eyed the Pocky pack Himoyo still had, and the girl scowled at her, putting two Pocky sticks into her mouth and chewing loudly. Koemi rolled her eyes.

"Except they probably _will_ get arrested, considering that it _is_ downtown Musutafu," Hisashi shrugged. "This place never changes. It's like the capital city of heroics."

Koemi perked up. "Speaking of heroics. Your son is a student at U.A, right?"

"How'd you know?" Hisashi asked back, brow rising.

"I met him yesterday," Koemi explained. "We bumped and it made me spill coffee on my shirt. He lent me his jacket to hide the stain."

"Oh," Hisashi stared at the jacket Koemi draped on her chair. "I was wondering about that jacket. You were never really an All Might fan. That's Izu's, then?"

Koemi nodded. "I promised him to return it after I have it washed. Did you know he wrecked his hands pretty badly during the U.A sports festival? He said it looked scary."

"He did what to his what?" Hisashi's gaze snapped back to Koemi's face.

"He said he wrecked his hands badly," Koemi shrugged. "I don't know how bad, though. I haven't checked the U.A sports festival footage."

Hisashi blinked and groaned. "So that's why he has that awful scar on his hand," he said, sounding exasperated. He shook his head. "Anyway. About that job from Kinjo?"

"Right," Aki cleared his throat. The lights overhead flickered and settled. "Well, we still need to contact the villains and try to lobby them, but I doubt it'll take too long. We'll probably be able to put it to work in a few days."

"A few days," Hisashi repeated thoughtfully, before he nodded in approval. "Alright, that sounds good enough. Well, then. Himoyo can try to dig some incentives for these people in the meantime if they're not persuaded. Koemi, can you survey the town to look for vantage points, possible escape routes if needed, so on and so forth?"

"Sure, I can do that," Koemi answered, already making a mental note to pin several locations in her phone's map apps.

"What about me?" Aki asked.

"Back and forth between helping Koemi and helping me contact these people," Hisashi answered. He reached and took Himoyo's Pocky, earning himself a betrayed look from the girl. "You're better at doing legwork, but…" He glanced at Koemi.

She bit the inside of her cheek. "Yeah, I know. People don't like me."

"It's their loss, honestly," Himoyo piped up. Koemi blinked at her in surprise and let loose a small smile.

"Aw, look at that," Aki grinned and poked at Koemi's arm. "Someone's getting sappy."

The smile vanished instantly, replaced instead with a scowl. "Boss, can I get him to walk off a cliff?"

"No, we need him," Hisashi answered immediately. "You can smack him if he gets too annoying, though."

Aki laughed nervously. "Please don't, I was just joking. Um. Should we go downtown now?"

Koemi thought and shook her head. "No, you stay and help Hisashi-san. I think I should make a detour to the hospital for a bit."

"Ah." Aki nodded in understanding. "All right, then. Have a safe trip."

"Say hello to little Kazu for us," Hisashi chimed in.

"Tell him to cut back on the pudding," Himoyo added. At the weird look Koemi sent her, she shrugged. "I've been looking at the surveillance footage. Someone's been smuggling pudding for Kazuki. How they know his favorite is beyond me."

Koemi groaned. "What are those nurses _doing_?" She began shoving her things into a sling back and slipped it around her shoulders. "Alright then, I'm off. See you later."

"Find us some good spots!" Aki chimed before she was out of the door. She didn't respond, but it did draw an eyeroll from her.

* * *

Patrol was pretty much just them walking around town with no exact purpose in particular. Just… walk around. See if something happened. Throw punches to stop crimes, or maybe stop the fights before fights even begun.

That was a familiar lesson for Izuku. He knew for a fact that actual villain attack didn't happen as much as the news would lead one to believe, thought when it hit, it hit hard. For now though, he was just walking around in town with his friends. While wearing their hero costumes. And also looking for signs of possible crime, villain attack, or otherwise. Though, things were quiet for once. It was probably going to be a boring patrol.

"I'm wondering why we have to patrol on ourselves," Uraraka piped up. "We patrolled together with the heroes we interned under. Isn't that supposed to be enough?"

"Maybe they're trying to get us more accustomed to doing things solo," Todoroki shrugged. "Besides, this is U.A and Aizawa-sensei. I wouldn't be surprised if he somehow arranged so something would fall to us and we have to deal with situation accordingly."

"Logical ruses again," Izuku gave a small laugh. "I won't be surprised either if it turns out into one of those."

"Logical ruse or not, as aspiring heroes we should always take patrol seriously!" Iida chose that moment to make his presence known, hand chopping at nothing in the air. "After all, we should always be prepared for any situation. I'm sure that's what U.A is trying to do to us."

"Doesn't hurt to get a slow day or two, though," Uraraka commented, and even though no one said it Izuku knew everyone agreed with the sentiment. He knew he did.

The walk continued for a while, with the four of them chatting amiably and keeping their eyes out for any possible trouble. So far, it seemed like nothing would happen. Downtown Musutafu seemed to be stretching its legs out and relaxing under the sun. Even the bustling crowd seemed to be subdued, affected with the city's sleepy atmosphere.

"Should we head back to where Aizawa-sensei is waiting?" Izuku asked after a while. "We're almost done with our route."

"As soon as it's done I think we can come back," Todoroki said.

"I wonder how the others are faring," Uraraka said with a grin. "If their routes are as boring as ours, I think they'd be wishing for something interesting to happen."

"I hope they didn't, because they should always remember the saying _be careful what you wish for_ ," Iida said drily.

"Oh, calm down," Uraraka laughed. "What are the odds of something happening as soon as someone asks, _what's the worst that could happen_?"

As if on cue, an explosion rocked the air. A building nearby shuddered and crumbled to the ground. From the settling dust, they could see a man – tall, easily rivaling All Might, though not as buff – emerging and stretching. He laughed, clearly pleased with his handiwork, and kicked the rubble as if it was a ball.

"Been a while since I'm out," he yelled loudly, his voice carrying over to the length of the street despite the buzz of panicked crowd that hurried to get away from the scene. He scanned the crowd, and his gaze landed at the group of heroes-in-training. He grinned, silently taunting. Izuku stared, feeling chills running down his spine. This person seemed to want to wreak havoc for the sake of wreaking havoc. That meant he would be more difficult to detain, because he most likely wouldn't care all that much about casualties or structural damage, as proven by the destroyed building under his feet. He just hoped the villain worked alone, because if he had others with him with the same mindset…

There was another boom, and they could see smoke rising from afar. The villain laughed when he heard it. "Come on, kids. Better act now. My friends have already started wrecking the city, you know."

Well, there went that hope.

Todoroki spared Uraraka a deadpan look. "Sure, Uraraka, what's the worst that could happen?"

* * *

A/N: Ah, Uraraka. Did no one tell you not to tempt fate?

Anyway I'll have you know that those assignments I need to do for my exams are still yet to be written, though data gathering process is at least ongoing. They're due this weekend and next Monday. I'm still a walking disaster, apparently.


	4. Chapter 4

In mere moments, the town had gone from sleepily peaceful to confusingly chaotic. There was a constant barrage of booms and bangs, buildings crumbling and rubble falling to the ground. Screams and shrieks mixed with the distant laughter added into the swirl of confusion, muddying the scene further.

Shouto had long since known that crowds would never be the most cooperative or logical during villain attacks, especially ones with higher destruction rate as this. Enji had pounded it into his head as he grumbled about crowds making it harder to subdue villains, and Hosu hadn't pulled any punches in delivering the message home. Still, though, as he weaved his way through the throng of people running in panic, he came to his own conclusion that he _hated_ crowds, because their panic kicked something deep within him that made him want to join the fleeing crowd and he couldn't do that; he was a hero and that meant staying put and help however he could. This really made it hard to do it.

Still, that wasn't an excuse. He and Midoriya ran up ahead to stop the villain, with their quirks more suited for battle. Iida quickly directed the crowd to safer place, while Uraraka ran ahead to deal with the rubbles and any potentially trapped civilians. The villain grinned at them and charged ahead, forcing Midoriya to swerve to the side to avoid butting heads with the villain's helmeted own. Shouto found himself thanking whatever higher entities allowed Midoriya to move in time, because that Viking-style helmet with horns definitely would leave holes in Midoriya's head otherwise.

"Bring it, kids!" the villain laughed. "Come at me. I've been wanting to stretch my limbs!"

Shouto decided to give the villain what he wanted. Fire and ice crackled to life at his fingertips, and he slashed the air using both arms. Torrent of flames and iceberg manifested, surging to the villain, but somehow he managed to dodge the attack. How could such a large man be so lithe?

Midoriya shot to the villain as he dodged Shouto's attack, aiming a well-placed kick to the man's neck. The villain, however, managed to grab his leg and make use of Midoriya's momentum to fling him to the street.

"Deku!" Uraraka yelled, apparently deciding that helping with the fight more important. Shouto wasn't surprised, since the street looked pretty much deserted and there wasn't any sign of anyone other than them being around. She took a broken pole and flung it like a harpoon at the villain with vengeance.

The villain only smirked. He extended his hand to the metal pole, and before it even touched his skin it disappeared into thin air. He laughed. "Bummer. I didn't think I'd have to use my quirk so soon."

Okay, so the villain could make metal disappear. That was fine, Shouto used fire and ice anyway.

Midoriya had chosen that moment to rush back into the battle. He jumped to the villain, aiming another kick – this time to his head – with limbs coiled with green lightning. The villain dodged as he barked a laugh and parried, and suddenly Midoriya was fighting the villain head on, and Shouto immediately rushed in with fire on his side and ice on the other. It reminded him of their fight against the Hero Killer, with them fighting side to side against a common enemy, but it was still different.

Stain had wanted to kill them – or, at least, disable them enough to finish off Native, perhaps then Iida, maybe Shouto, though Shouto didn't think he had wanted to kill Midoriya. This villain, though, was simply playing around. It showed in how he aimed for places that wouldn't immediately fatally wound them, and the way he grinned like a little kid playing hide and seek, and the way he gave out laughs every now and then. He treated it like a game, and it annoyed Shouto. He and Midoriya both were fighting hard, and it hardly even made the villain sweat.

It lasted a while, the three of them trading blows, but it soon came to a halt when loud bangs that reminded Shouto of popping balloons rose above the screams. The villain grabbed both his and Midoriya's arm and dragged them behind him.

Shouto turned and froze. The villain had stepped ahead to make a torrent of bullets disappear, and he was glaring at a line of police with their guns drawn out.

"Hold your fire, cops!" he yelled, a dangerous edge in his voice. "Can't you see there are _kids_ here? Could've hit them!" He groaned when the police didn't answer. "Argh, and just when it's getting interesting, too." He tightened his hold to Shouto and Midoriya and grinned at them. "Hold on, now."

"Wait, what are you going to doooOOO – " Midoriya's words turned into a scream partway through as the villain lifted them and flung them away above the rubble of the building he first emerged from. It didn't get them far, but they tumbled through the debris all the same.

Shouto groaned as he pushed himself to his feet. "Are you alright, Midoriya?"

"'m fine," Midoriya grunted, also standing up. "Let's go back – "

The wall behind them exploded, and Shouto quickly made an ice wall to protect them. They peeked out to see the wall now gone, and in its place a huge hole big enough to go through. From it they could see the road that laid at the other side of the building and realized that it was even more chaotic that the street they had patrolled on.

"What even is going on?" Midoriya questioned. His voice was faint, distressed. "Not even a week ago there was that villain attack where Barrier Maiden debuted, which was crazy destructive. Now this? We shouldn't get so many villain attacks, and not in this scale."

"We can't afford to waste time thinking about that now," Shouto said. "Think about that later, after the villains are subdued. Let's get back to that man just now."

Midoriya nodded and sprang back to the street. "Right. Let's go."

They had just stepped on the asphalt when a hero in red and white suit landed in front of the villain, pulling out a sheet of paper from his belt that quickly morphed into clawed gauntlet that covered his hand. He glanced at them and yelled, "I can handle this one. Go to the main street; there are a lot of people who need help there!"

"Are you sure?" Shouto asked, though he was already stepping back.

"Yeah, backup is coming," the hero assured. He turned to the villain and morphed another sheet of paper into another clawed gauntlet that covered his other hand. "Go!"

Shouto didn't need to be told twice. He turned and grabbed Midoriya, dragging him through the hole in the building all the way into the other street. As soon as they emerged through, an explosion rocked the building and it crumbled to the ground. Midoriya stared at it wide-eyed, while Shouto squinted at it and looked around. He didn't see anyone who might be responsible for it.

Or, maybe that villain who was currently cackling while hurling fireballs was the one. Shouto couldn't tell for sure, though, because there were two more villains who were currently cackling at the street. What was it with villains and cackling, really?

Someone came hurtling between Shouto and Midoriya, and the latter of the two yelped in surprise. They turned to see who it was, and Shouto was both surprised and completely _not_ surprised to see Bakugou glowering at them, crouched on all fours as he had just stopped himself from skidding back and hitting the pile of rubbles behind them.

"Fucking move and stop staring already," he snapped. "You could at least try to help with all this fucking shitstorm, fuckers." He rolled his shoulders and jumped back into the fray.

"R-right," Midoriya stammered, looking around. "Let's move, then."

The two weaved through the battles, deciding to help with minimalizing the damage and evacuate remaining civilians as many pros had come to fight the villains. Shouto had seen some of their classmates helping – Sero had somehow managed to use his tapes to hold a building together (impressive), Yaoyorozu had made several poles and scaffoldings to hold another building with lesser damage (also impressive), and Kaminari was for some reason discharging his electricity into a pile of rubble (Shouto wondered _why_ but ultimately decided he didn't really want to know, as Kaminari's misadventures often didn't really make sense for him). Uraraka had found her way here as well, and she worked together with Asui to rescue civilians from many buildings, directing them to where Iida was standing, giving instructions to go to evacuation areas. Some, though, opted to fight villains head-on, such as Bakugou with Kirishima backing him up.

Shouto and Midoriya ended up running back and forth between assisting pros and redirecting civilians, never really pairing together but somehow managing to always keep each other within sights. It worked well for them; they could make sure each other was safe, and if anything were to happen to them the other would be able to help before the situation got out of hand. They kept up with it until Midoriya suddenly skidded to a halt near an alley.

"Midoriya? What's wrong?" Shouto asked.

"No, nothing's wrong – go ahead without me, I think I saw someone in there," Midoriya explained quickly, and he darted into the dark of the alley before Shouto could object.

He frowned. He didn't like that Midoriya went off alone, especially since he walked around with an invisible cosmic sign reading _PROBLEM CHILD, HIT ME UP_ everywhere he went. Still, though, it wasn't like he could keep an eye on him all the time. Midoriya was training to be a hero, he could take care of himself.

Figuring Midoriya would be fine on his own, Shouto turned back into the chaos in the streets and dove back in.

* * *

Katsuki had just managed to subdue the villain he was fighting (could eat heat with his quirk, fuck it that wasn't both the most annoying and interesting fight he'd fought) with the help of Kirishima and, toward the end, Aizawa's Erasure quirk when he saw a glint up on a building. He looked up and squinted while Aizawa wrapped the villain with his capture weapon.

"I'm gonna go up there," he announced to no one in particular.

"Up where?" Kirishima asked in confusion.

Katsuki pointed up to the window of a relatively untouched building. "Thought I saw something in there. If there's another villain waiting there, I figured we should stop them before they start shitstorm round two." He glanced at Aizawa.

The underground hero frowned, but nodded. "Remember to be careful. Bring someone or two with you, just in case there are a lot of villains hiding there."

Kirishima quickly replied an affirmative, but Katsuki didn't bother with it, instead quickly striding to the building. He stopped, though, when Aizawa called him.

"Bakugou," he said. "Your safety as well as Kirishima and anyone you brought as backup is first priority. I don't care if there are villains in there; if there is even the slightest chance of you getting hurt or even dying then you'd better pull out."

Bakugou scoffed and resumed his strides. "As if I didn't know that," he grumbled, loud enough for Aizawa to hear. He heard Aizawa grumbling a soft 'brat', but decided not to pay that any mind, instead going to the building as fast as he could. He scanned the crowd as he did, looking for someone who would probably be able to handle some villains and not get in his way. His eyes caught the distinctive red-and-white of Todoroki's hair, and he bellowed, "Oy, half-and-half!"

Todoroki stopped and turned. "What?"

"Get your ass over here! I'm gonna go to possible villain hideout!"

Todoroki glanced at the fray before jogging to him. "Where?"

Katsuki pointed at the building. "I saw something in there earlier. Could be something, could be nothing."

"Ah – Bakugou, Todoroki! I got Uraraka to join us!" Kirishima's voice reached Katsuki before he saw him, and Katsuki turned and scowled.

"Her quirk's better suited for rescue, moron," he growled.

"Gunhead's training got me real good with my hand-to-hand," Uraraka objected quickly, stepping forth with challenge in her eyes. "If there are villains in there, I'd be able to help."

Katsuki stared at her for a moment, considering, before giving a sort-of _come on, then_ gesture. The four of them quickly went to the building, going as fast and quiet as they could. Uraraka used her quirk on all of them to make them lighter so they could make less noise when they went up the stairs of the building. Katsuki made sure to listen as closely as he could for any sort of movement as they swept each floor.

They began hearing someone talking when they went up the stairs to the fourth floor – the topmost floor of the building.

"…cess? Hey, you there?" someone hissed. It was a male voice, a tenor tone that threaded the air lightly. "Siren? Siren, what's the situation? What's happening here?"

Katsuki turned to the others and jabbed his thumb to the hallway. _We go this way_. The other four nodded in agreement, and they crept as quietly as they could.

"Access!" the same voice whisper-shouted, distress lacing the tone. "What is – what's wrong? What's going on?" There was a beat before he went again, "Trailblaze, are you there? Siren? Is anyone at all monitoring anything? Does anyone have an eye on my – well, shit."

They had just peeked into the room when the man threw on the hood of his hoodie and pulled in down to cast a shadow to his face as he turned to face them. There was a small monitor showing the room he was in and the corridor outside the room, where the four budding heroes were clearly displayed, as well as the view of the chaos in the streets. He pressed as a sort of communication device on his ear and spoke, loudly this time, "Welp, I got company."

There was a cuss from the earpiece, loud enough to make the man wince and the four of them hear a garbled sound they couldn't quite identify as a word. The tone, however, made it clear that it was a curse.

" _Language_ , Siren," the man hissed. He turned to the four of them and chuckled nervously. "So, um. Hi?"

Katsuki didn't hesitate. He charged.

* * *

Koemi hid in the darkness of the alley, holding her phone which showed the multiple scenes of the fray just at the main streets of Musutafu, taken from the many surveillance cameras Himoyo had made use of to their advantage. The owners of those corner stores and minimarkets wouldn't know a thing.

There were movements from the street by her right. She shrunk further back into the shadows, pulling her black jacket closer to herself and throwing the hood on. She pressed her fingers to her communicator on her ear. "Access," she whispered, "is everything alright?"

Himoyo's voice came immediately. "Everything's fine. All according to plan. If things go as well as this, we shouldn't need you to handle things down there."

"That's fine and dandy, but that girl with the crazy hair is starting to wreak more havoc than necessary," Koemi grumbled. "Connect my communicator with hers?"

"Sure thing, Siren." There was a crackle, then, "You're connected."

"If you want to avoid jail time _I suggest you stop trying to hurt civilians_ ," she said calmly. "Otherwise we won't be able to help you at all."

The woman in question clicked her tongue. "Fine, fine," she grumbled. Koemi watched from the surveillance footage in her phone to make sure the villain relented and nodded in satisfaction when she did. There was another crackle in the earpiece.

"I've disconnected your communicator from hers," Himoyo informed.

"Alright, thanks," Koemi responded.

"How are things on your end, Siren?" Hisashi's voice came then.

"Pretty quiet, actually," Koemi answered. "Things are going better than I expected."

"Hopefully it'll stay that way," Aki said. "The villains are thankfully pretty cooperative, and the heroes and heroes-in-training are doing a great job. We'll have to bail several of the villains, but otherwise things are fine."

"Well, here's hoping," Himoyo flippantly spoke, and soon the channel went silent.

Koemi's attention went back to the security footages. It was ridiculous, how chaotic the situation was. It was hands down the biggest chaos the Enablers had somehow managed to orchestrate. She glanced at the main streets every now and then. At least it didn't seem like anyone would find her hiding place anytime soon, and even if they did she could just play the scared civilian card. It had been tested multiple times and she had found out that distressed voice and some stray tears would always land her where she wanted.

There was a soft grunt from the channel. Koemi frowned and pressed the earpiece again. "Who was that?"

"…hnnnh…" the uncomfortable sound was so clearly Himoyo, because Koemi had only heard that sound come from Himoyo, and only in a specific circumstance. Worry bloomed in her chest as her gaze flicked back to her phone screen. Just as she feared, the footages were blurring.

"Access," she hissed. "Access, what's happening?"

"Someone is… nnnh. Hacking."

Koemi felt like her blood had frozen. Very few managed to get through Himoyo's frankly ridiculously large amount of layers of defensive system, but when someone did it promised bad news. Himoyo wasn't just their intelligence agent, she was also a walking, breathing giant archive of their resources. Her databank was what got them so far. If someone was to get through her defenses, that meant their identities was out for anyone to know of, their clients' identities were out for anyone to grab, all the favors they had managed to hoard would be useless.

Furthermore, no one was sure what sort of damage human brain could take if hacked like a flimsy computer system. Himoyo could fall into a vegetative state for all they know. She could even _die_.

"Access, talk to me," Koemi coaxed, panic seeping into her voice. "Please tell me you're okay. Are you holding them off?"

"I – I am," Himoyo croaked. "They got through some layers, but – " she cut off her sentence with a sharp gasp, and Koemi's heart clenched. "I'm handling it for now," Himoyo assured. "I just can't help with all the footage. You'll have to manage on your own." She grunted.

"Okay, I can do that,"Koemi nodded.

"And… my communication with Trailblaze and Brightlight got cut off earlier. You should – nnnh…! – tell them what's wrong."

"Okay." Koemi nodded again. "Okay. Be safe, Access."

"I'm not gonna let some ugly grubby old whoever take a hold over my treasure trove," Himoyo scoffed, and that at least drew a laugh from Koemi. If she could still joke like that at least she was alright.

She contacted Hisashi first, relaying the information quickly and drawing a soft curse from him and an instruction to proceed with the mission. Koemi quietly confirmed, and proceeded to contact Aki. Before she could, though, someone called, "Yuki-san?"

She froze and turned. Standing in his hero suit and staring at her in worry was the one and only Midoriya Izuku. She gulped.

"Yuki-san, what are you doing here?" Midoriya's voice was so full of concern. "The situation is bad right now, you should leave."

The thought of Himoyo trying to fend off a hacker and effectively blinding the rest of the Enablers made Koemi freeze. Now, more than anything, they need someone to help minimize damage and regain any semblance of control they could. That was _her_ job. She had to stay on the ground.

"No," she blurted before she could string better sentence.

Midoriya frowned. "Yuki-san, it's really dangerous to stay here – " he extended a hand to her.

She reacted before she could think about it, infusing her quirk into her voice, hissing, " _Don't touch me!_ "

Midoriya froze instantly, surprise and panic clouding his eyes before he realized what was going on. Guilt flooded Koemi's veins and she released her hold over Midoriya instantly.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't mean to do that."

"It's okay," Midoriya assured. "I can understand why you did it. Still, Yuki-san, it's dangerous here. Please go to the evacuation area."

"No, I can't," Koemi shook her head, inching away from Midoriya's reach. "I just – can't."

"You could get hurt."

Koemi stared at him warily. "I'm not going."

"Yuki-san, please. I don't want to forcefully remove you from here." Pain filled Midoriya's eyes, guilt flooding his voice. It was clear that he didn't like having to use force, and that made Koemi regret having to do what she was going to do next.

" _Stay where you are and don't touch me,_ " Koemi spoke, quirk flaring. Once again Midoriya froze, locked in place. Koemi spared him an apologetic look before she pressed her earpiece, listening to the crackle of voice that had just come from it.

"Brightlight," she called. "Brightlight, you there?"

"Siren?" Aki's voice crackled in, laced with confusion and budding panic. "Siren, what's the situation? What's happening here?"

"Brightlight," she sighed a breath of relief. "Access' dealing with some hacker. She can't help us; we're on our own."

If Aki had wanted to answer in any way, he didn't. Instead the channel crackled again, and in came Himoyo's pained groan.

"Access! What is – what's wrong? What's going on?" Aki's voice rose against the static before everything was cut off. For a moment, only horrible, horrible silence met Koemi's ears, and she found herself holding her breath, expecting the worst to happen.

When the channel crackled with sound again, it was Aki's voice, speaking in a completely deadpan tone, "…got company."

Koemi couldn't help it. A curse word slipped through her lips in an angry snarl before she could stop herself.

" _Language_ , Siren," Aki chided, but Koemi didn't care. This wasn't ideal scenario, that was for sure, and she didn't like that.

Then came the unmistakable sounds of explosions, and Koemi knew instantly that Aki was engaged in battle. She was made sure of it when Aki hissed a curse of his own and what sounded like grunts came from the earpiece. She immediately tried to contact Hisashi, looking for some sort of clue as to how to proceed, but she couldn't reach him for some reason.

This was bad. This was bad, bad, _bad_. This could throw the whole mission in jeopardy – _already_ thrown the whole mission in jeopardy. Aki was their fighting guy, sure, he was proficient in martial arts and all-out street brawl, but Koemi was pretty sure that Aki wasn't facing just one person. Something about the sounds from the earpiece made her sure of it. Besides, Aki was supposed to be their eye in the sky, with his higher vantage point, and was supposed to blind the heroes with his light manipulation quirk if needed be. With Hisashi somehow cut off completely from the conversation, Himoyo preoccupied, and Aki engaged, Koemi remained the last stronghold that could keep the mission going. Furthermore, now Aki faced the risk of somehow getting detained. That in itself wasn't much of a problem since the Enablers had enough favors they could call to bail their own out of jail, but that at least would call attention to them.

As a group who thrived in anonymity, that wasn't something they could afford.

In short, Koemi had to find a way to make sure Aki would be able to get out of his current situation unscathed. The question was how.

A soft gasp drew her attention, and she met Midoriya's eyes. The effects of her quirk had worn off, apparently, but Koemi wasn't surprised. Her quirk wasn't exactly long-lasting, and she hadn't been concentrating on it anyway.

"Yuki-san," Midoriya said shakily, "please don't do that again."

An idea bloomed in Koemi's mind, and she regretted it as soon as it came. She pressed her lips together and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry," she said. "You probably won't forgive me, but…" she took a spare earpiece from her pocket and gave it to Midoriya. " _Take this and put it on._ "

Midoriya stiffened immediately. His face contorted in discomfort as he took the earpiece with trembling hands and put it on. "Yuki-san, what are you doing? Stop this."

"I'm really sorry about this," Koemi gritted her teeth. " _Listen to me through that earpiece. I want you to go to that building,_ " she pointed at the building Aki was in, " _and save my companion. He responds to Brightlight. Break through the wall so you'd be faster. Grab Brightlight, and run away._ "

"No," the young hero-in-training gasped, clearly trying to fight the control even as his body began moving. It strengthened the guilt that churned itself in Koemi's stomach, but she decided that she could live with it if she could ensure her teammate's safety,

" _Break the wall, grab Brightlight,_ run _."_ Koemi infused as much as her willpower into the command, and she knew she had the boy. He turned almost immediately and began running, green lightning sparking off his body.

Koemi swallowed. This wasn't ideal, and it definitely wasn't subtle, but she didn't see any other way to do it. She glanced at her phone screen and saw that she could see the security footage in the streets and, for some reason, the room Aki was in. they flickered in and out of focus, but she could still _see_ , and that was more than enough for her.

" _Be quick, Izuku,_ " Koemi coaxed Midoriya, intentionally switching to his first name. Familiarity, even forced, would often help her strengthen her control over whoever heard her voice.

Oh god, Hisashi was going to kill her. She hoped with all her might that her death would be worth the trouble.

* * *

Aki hated, _hated_ , the fact that he had to fight so many at once. He also hated the fact that these were actual _kids_ , and that he would _totally_ lose if he had to keep this up.

No wonder these kids got into U.A's hero course. Dangit.

It was hard, keeping them back. The explosion kid was so fast and light on his feet, exploding stars from his palms whenever he got close enough to Aki. The fire-and-ice kid was so tricky simply because he kept his distance and let his quirk do the job. Both the girl and the guy with hardening quirk were quick on their feet and skilled in fighting – and the girl was probably trained, too, judging from her stance – and they both made it even harder for Aki to just bolt away and jump out the window or something. Anything to get away from these kids.

Inwardly, almost pettily, Aki vowed never to help them debut if their agency asked the Enablers to help.

Multiple times, Aki had used his quirk to make the room pitch black or blindingly bright to steal away the kids' sight and get himself a slight advantage, but that wasn't much good either. The kids were trained well, that much he could tell.

Shit. He was _really_ screwed. Would he end up in jail somehow? He hoped not. That'd give so much extra work to Hisashi.

Explosion kid, for some unfathomable reason, yelled to the girl to high-five him. Which made no sense, until the kid jumped and got to an improbable height and pounced at Aki from above.

He grinned from ear to ear, and Aki wondered how someone with such a devilish grin could end up in hero course, because that was the sort of smile that made children cry and gave adults nightmares, not give people a sense of peace and reassurance. "I got you now, fuckface," the boy _purred_ , and Aki decided right then and there that it was much more terrifying than if the boy had screamed to his face.

Still, the gods above apparently decided that this wasn't a good day for Aki to get arrested, because the wall by his right exploded inwards right then. The rocking startled everyone in the room, and Aki used the opportunity to kick the boy off his chest and sprang away.

He eyed the newly made hole in the wall, waiting for the dust to settle and reveal what had broken the wall. As it turned out, a person had kicked his way in, clad in green costume with white gloves that went above his elbows. His curly green hair jutted out of – oh. _Oh no_. Aki knew that hair. That was the exact same hair as Hisashi's.

He didn't know if this was supposed to be a good development or not, but either way he felt like he had just been force-fed a whole lemon. This wasn't how he envisioned meeting Hisashi's son would be like.

The boy looked up at him, whole body trembling, and spoke with a tremor in his voice that was somehow familiar to him. "Are you Brightlight?"

Aki frowned. His stomach churned. "Yes."

"Siren wanted me to grab you," the boy said, and Aki felt like he had been dunked into a lake in midwinter. _Siren_ sent him. _Koemi_ sent him.

What the hell, Koemi.

Behind him, the girl in the heroes-in-training group gave a faint whisper. "…Deku?" she called, disbelief and confusion and shock lacing her voice.

Midoriya Izuku gave the four young heroes a pained look and grabbed Aki by the arm, dragging him away from his classmates. Green lightning coiled around his person as he jumped out of the building, running to wherever, all while the other four U.A students yelled for him and made a grab – to no avail. Somehow, the boy managed to get away from the four of them, all while wearing that pained look in his eyes. Aki knew that look well.

 _What the hell, Koemi. Hisashi's gonna kill you._

* * *

AN: okay let me just say this now.

I actually have only planned out this fic until this point here. Right here. Ha. You think you were going into this fic blind but joke's on you I'm writing this blind. I feel like I'm flying a plane without receiving proper training on how to fly a plane and with no way to tell which way is which. Let's hope I won't somehow end up nosediving us all into the freaking Bermuda Triangle.

I won't give up with this fic, though. There are a lot of things I want to write into this story. Still, though, I definitely need some time to plan out the plot and rethink my life decisions.

I thought having a break from uni would give me some semblance of normalcy where I can function better as a human being. Joke's on me, I guess; I'm still a walking disaster.


End file.
